In the next wave of new business hotels, San Francisco is getting a new mid-priced property downtown; Westin adds a new San Jose location; there’s a new boutique hotel in Manhattan and a new Hampton Inn in downtown Chicago; Red Lion debuts its upscale RL brand in Baltimore; and Marriott adds a dual-branded hotel in Raleigh.
An August opening is expected for the Marriott’s new Courtyard San Francisco Union Square, at 761 Post Street, near Leavenworth Street (a mildly sketchy neighborhood near the city’s Tenderloin district west of Union Square). It has free Wi-Fi, a restaurant called The Bistro, and Marriott’s new lobby with working and socializing spaces. Rates begin around $329.
What was formerly the Sainte Claire Hotel in downtown San Jose — a 171-room property on the National register of Historic Places — is now Starwood’s Westin San Jose. Original touches have been preserved in the 90-year-old building, and guest rooms offer all the standard Westin amenities, including free high-speed Internet. It’s close to the McEnery Convention Center. Rates start around $269.
In New York City, the newest boutique hotel to open its doors is The Gregory, at 42 West 35th Street near Herald Square. It originally opened in 1903 as The Gregorian; after a $10 million rehab it’s been modernized and refitted, but with some original touches preserved. Rates start at $379.
The old Chicago Motor Club Building (1928) a block south of the Chicago River at 68 E. Wacker Place has been reborn as the 143-room Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/Michigan Avenue. Designers preserved the old Art Deco lobby, where a 1928 Ford Model A is now on display. It’s one of the few Hampton Inns that has a lobby bar. Rooms have free Wi-Fi, 42-inch HDTVs and more. Rates begin around $239.
Red Lion Hotels are known mostly for their affordability, but the company is launching a somewhat more upscale brand called RL Hotels, and the first one is due to open August 1 in Baltimore. The RL Baltimore Inner Harbor at 207 E. Redwood Street is a remake of the historic Keyser Building in the heart of downtown, close to the waterfront and Camden Yards. Introductory rates start at $111.
Marriott has cut the ribbon on a dual-branded Courtyard and Residence Inn in Raleigh, N.C. Each of the two has 128 rooms, at 10600 Little Brier Creek Lane; that’s five miles from the airport, close to Research Triangle Park and in between NC State and Duke universities. They share an indoor pool, fitness center and other amenities. Rates start at $135.
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